What's in a name?

Everyday, like some 34 years ago, when Emak was carrying me in her womb, she looked at the famous painting "The Mona Lisa" and wished for her daughter to have Mona Lisa's beautiful eyes and smile. She wanted to name her first-born after the painting, The Mona Lisa, which is without doubt the most famous work in the entire 4,000 year history of the visual arts and been famous for a remarkably long, almost uninterrupted period.

I read that when it was still in Leonardo Da Vinci's studio in Florence, and very probably not yet finished, it was already inspiring imitations. By mid-16th century it was being pronounced divine rather than human in its perfection. By mid-19th century it was a goal for pilgrimages and the object of a cult that mixed romantic religiosity with eroticism and rhetoric.

Now, back to the 20th century, when I was born...

When Abah went to register my name it turned out to be just "Naliza" on my birth certificate. Spelling error at the National Registration Department, but Abah thought "Naliza" is just as nice as "Mona Lisa" and unique. So, that's how I ended up with my name, and of course, very human, and nowhere near The Mona Lisa's divine perfection.

Do call me Nel, Liz, or Nelly. Naliza if you want to be formal with me. Liza if you prefer or Lisa, which is fine. But not Mona, please, I'm so not Mona!